Bad Cramp!!?

Question

I woke up in the middle of the night with unbearable cramp in my left leg. It was at the back of my knee. It got worse and worse over about 1 minute, and then eased off. I now have a dull ache behind my knee and it feels really sore to touch. To make matters worse the same thing then happened with my right leg! When the cramp came on I flexed my foot but it seemed to make it worse. Is it because I am not doing enouch exercising? It has happened before but never such severe pain and never has it ached so badly afterwards!

Answer 1

Hi, there is nothing worse than having cramp, what i do is rub the affect part, then try and put my feet on the cold floor, for some strange reason it does work.
There are two basic causes of cramping. One is inadequate oxygenation of muscle, where excess lactic acid, produced by anaerobic respiration, builds up and puts stress on the muscle.The other is lack of water or salt. Cramps from poor oxygenation can be improved by rapid deep breathing, as well as stretching the muscle. Cramps from lack of salt and water can be treated by stretching the muscle, and of course drinking water and increasing salt intake. Pounding on the muscle can increase soreness.

Muscle cramps in particular can be treated by applying a soft massage on the cramped muscle, stretching the muscle and applying heat or cold. Heat improves superficial blood circulation and makes muscles more flexible, so some people find that heat is more soothing for muscle cramps than applying ice.

Answer 2

Join the club! Stretching, straightening, turning over, anything and my legs cramp up - usually if I've been a bit more busy than usual the day before. I try to make sure I drink an extra glass or two of water and kinda stretch out before going to bed, this sometimes helps. The dull ache you're left with after a cramp wears off during the day (thank goodness!).

Answer 3

Here is a picture of the pain that you should be having with your cramps if so you may just have a knot in your muscle that needs worked out.

http://www.latrobe.edu.au/podiatry/myofasc/gastrocnemius.html

This is out of the book at I use when treating a person with similiar pain / symptoms.

"Myofascial TrPs [trigger points] as a Cause of Nocturnal [night] calf cramps

When TrPs are present in the medial [inside] head of the gastrocnumuis muscle, intermittent calf cramps often result. Sometimes TrPs in the lateral [outside] head cause calf cramps. Elimination of the TrPs, when present, usually relieves the calf-cramp syndrome. The fact that calf cramps are so common associated with TrPs has not been widely recognized.
Both calf cramps and myofascial TrPs are provoked when the muscle is placed in the shortened position for a period of time, expecially when sleeping at night, and by forceful contraction in the shortened positions. Calf cramps are TrPs are prone to occur in fatigued (or chilled) muscles are are relieved by passive [someone else doing the stretch on you] stretch."

Lay on your belly and flex your leg so your lower leg is up in the air, look at your foot if it is pointed up toward the ceiling then that is a pretty good indicator that this muscle is tight.

I am a massage therapist, so I am partial to massage of course, but you need to find a Massage Therapist with Neuromuscular training to help you.

Answer 4

I used to suffer from cramps like that often, I found that drinking plenty of water helps. Your body could be lacking in salts and minerals which can cause cramps. Magnesium is often the culprit as can be iodine. I suggest you take a multi vitamin and mineral daily supplement and drink plenty of fluid throughout the day. Also make sure you stretch well after exercising (exercising helps with reducing cramps too)

Answer 5

I get cramp if I'm dehydrated.You may be lacking in quinine which you can get from tonic water or you can buy a supplement. Standing on a cold tiled floor normally helps to ease it.For the ache you have now take some ibuprofen.If it carries on go and see your GP x

Answer 6

Hi hon, I get exactly the same thing, a good tip is to drink tonic water before bed - it contains quinine which works against cramp. Or if you are unsure what is causing it ask a pharmacist or your doctor (here are things they can prescribe if it becomes an ongoing problem - but I'd prefer to drink slimline tonic!)

Answer 7

This sounds a lot like a charley horse and I agree with the one poster that said about stretching it out a little bit. I would also recommend a follow up with your dr to evaluate the situation to see what they think could be going on.

Answer 8

I get that all the time at night - try taking calcium and magnesium supplements, it really helped me. It shouldnt be anything to do with lack of exercise as I exercise 5 days a week.

Answer 9

you may not be drinking enough water - if you are dehydrated you are more prone to cramps. Also lack of potassium -which is found in bananas. So eat at least one banana a day-also good for a variety of things.

Answer 10

You need potassium water then stretch good before going to bed maybe even get a massage